Whether a man or woman, everybody knows how tough it is to diet effectively when you’re overweight. We all know that it’s not healthy to be carrying too many excess pounds, but that doesn’t seem to make that much difference to most people. Even knowing it’s bad for them, people still over eat and under exercise. If you’ve tried all the conventional ways to lose weight and lose pounds why not try something new? Something you would possibly never want to do in normal situations, but maybe this time it might help. Why not try playing golf?
Play Golf and Lose Weight
- First of all you don’t have to be a sporty person. It’s a stationary ball sport and does not need much natural ability to play to a reasonable standard..
- Most towns have a pay and play course open to the public and contrary to the beliefs of many people you can play on a shoestring budget.
- All the equipment you need to begin playing can be hired from the pros shop and group lessons for beginners are cheap.
- Although golf clubs are friendly, and there are always golfers around looking for a game, golf can also be played on your own, at any time.
The Health Benefits of Healthy Hobby
- Very often novice golfers just play nine holes, which takes about two hours. The calorie burn for an hour of golf is 300 per hour for someone weighing about 160lbs, if you walk and pull a trolley. That’s 600 for nine holes.
- During the nine holes, if you are a beginner, you hit a ball about fifty times with a further fifty practise swings. You may well warm up with fifty balls on the range.
- A golf swing involves a turn of the body back and forward, so during nine holes a golfer will have turned athletically one hundred and fifty times – a great workout for the back, shoulders, arms and tummy. Without even trying you will have lost weight.
- Even small things like picking the ball out of the hole or lining up putts, exercise the knee joints and back. The health benefits of playing golf are enormous and while you’re out playing you’re not in eating. Pretty much a stress free diet plan carried out in the fresh air.
Apart from the obvious health benefits the ethos of a pay and play golf club is enjoyment. The pro shop staff will go out of their way to help and advise you. When they teach beginner groups they make sure their pupils enjoy the experience, and are keen to introduce golfers to each other, so when they progress they have friends to call up for a game.
Perhaps the nicest thing about golf clubs for a novice is that there are always people on their own milling around. Whether it's to pick up the kids, or to hit a few balls on the range, or simply popping in for a coffee, there is absolutely no need to feel apprehensive about tuning up on your own.
Go on give it a go, it might help you lose weight and shed those extra pounds.
See also: Too Embarrassed to Play Golf - PGA Advice or Change your life Rebuild confidence and Self Esteem
John Hoskison - John is a class 'A' member of the British PGA and author of the acclaimed book 'Inside - One Man's Experience of Prison'.
